The Complexities of Sleep
by JasmineRey
Summary: Rey, Finn, and Poe become acquainted with each other's sleeping habits when they share accommodation after a Resistance mission. (Post-TLJ, pre-TROS).


**The Complexities of Sleep**

The goal of the mission had been the same as all their other recent missions: to stand up against injustice and help those fighting against the First Order, with the hope of also making allies and sowing the spark of resistance. Much to Rey, Finn and Poe's relief, the mission had been a success. Some significant structural damage in the planet's capital and a few people injured, but no lives lost. As far as Resistance missions went, that was an indisputable win.

As an expression of gratitude, the three friends had been offered free accommodation in a hotel for a night, as well as a free evening meal. After confirming with Leia that there was no need to return to base immediately, they had happily accepted the offer. With Resistance resources constantly wavering between scarce and satisfactory, and no consistent place to call a base, let alone a home, they knew it would be foolish to reject such kindness.

After a satisfying dinner, they are shown to their room. It is small and humble, but comfortable. The majority of the space is occupied by three beds, no more than a quarter of a metre apart from each other. A second door leads to an even smaller adjacent room, the refresher, crammed with a sonic shower, toilet, and sink. After settling in, they each take turns in the refresher, scrubbing away the grit and grime of a hard day's fight.

In the relaxed and quiet environment of the hotel room, Rey, Finn, and Poe quickly become aware of just how drained and exhausted they all are. Poe claims the bed in the middle, for no other reason than, "I'm already sitting on it, and I'm too tired to move now." Unbothered, Rey and Finn each claim a bed on either side. The minute their heads hit their pillows, exhaustion drags each of them down into the peaceful darkness of sleep, and they welcome it.

...

Rey wakes to a strange, rhythmic roaring sound. She blinks, urging her vision to adjust, then scans the dark room for the source. Turning her head, she tracks the sound to bed beside her, and quickly realises that it is coming from Poe. The man is lying sprawled out on his back, fast asleep, the unpleasant noise vibrating from his airways. Rey considers waking him, but decides against it.

_He's exhausted_, she tells herself. _Waking him would be cruel. _

Instead, she curls her pillow over her ears and rolls over onto her side, facing away from Poe. She closes her eyes, trying to will herself back to sleep, but the sound of Poe's snoring somehow bypasses the pillow and continues to drill into her brain and hold her back from sleep. She groans in frustration and rolls back over angrily to face Poe.

_He may be exhausted_, she decides, _but so am I._

She reaches over to Poe's arm and pokes him hard. Immediately, he jolts awake and glances around wearily until his eyes fall upon Rey's face, glaring at him.

"You're snoring," she snaps. "It's keeping me awake."

"Sorry," Poe mumbles back sleepily. "I'll roll over." He shifts onto his side, facing away from her.

At last, all is quiet. Rey adjusts her pillow and curls up into a comfortable position. The frustration soon ebbs out of her system and she relaxes into sleep once again.

...

After being woken by Rey, Poe does not return to sleep right away. Instead, he lies on his side, facing Finn's bed, and he can't help but notice the odd, almost unsettling way Finn sleeps. The young man is flat on his back, arms straight by his side, and completely silent. Even with Finn in such close proximity, Poe swears he cannot hear him breathing. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought for sure Finn was dead.

The disturbing thought creeps into his tired mind and, for some reason, he cannot shake it. Perhaps it is because he is exposed to death so frequently that it no longer seems like such an unexpected occurrence. Instead, it is something that can strike at any moment. At any moment, the people you love can be torn away from you in an instant.

Poe shakes his head. _When did I get so morbid?_ he thinks, and even cracks a smile.

But the thoughts don't leave him. They cling to him. As he watches Finn, fast asleep, worry continues to flood his mind, echoing loudly in his head until he cannot take it anymore. He reaches over and gently shakes Finn's shoulder.

"Finn," he says, in an urgent whisper.

Finn's eyes shoot open in an instant. He glances around, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Hmm? Poe?"

"Sorry, man," Poe says, already feeling guilty for waking his friend. "It's just... well... I wanted to make sure you weren't dead."

"Dead...? What...?" Finn mumbles sleepily.

"Look, it doesn't matter," says Poe, realising how ridiculous the whole thing sounds now that he has said it out loud. "I'm sorry I woke you up. Just go back to sleep."

Without another word, Finn closes his eyes and settles back down to sleep. With his mind now at ease, Poe manages to do the same.

...

A sudden feeling of alarm shocks Finn from his deep sleep. He feels it flare in his mind and pulse through his body, screaming at him that_ something is wrong, someone's in trouble._

_Rey's in trouble._

Panicked, he sits up abruptly and peers into the darkness, straining to see his friend on the other side of the room. He sees Rey, tossing and turning wildly in her bed, breathing rapidly, whimpering and murmuring words Finn cannot quite make out. Concerned, he slides out of his bed and quietly walks over to Rey's. It is clear to him that, whatever the nightmare is about, it is distressing her greatly. Her bed sheets are grasped tightly in her hands, and her cheeks are damp with tears.

Finn places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Rey," he says softly. "Rey, wake up."

He cannot help but startle as Rey shoots up into a sitting position, breathing hard, her hand grasped firmly around his wrist which, knowing her strength, she could probably break with one swift and violent twist.

"Woah, woah, woah, it's okay, Rey," he assures her. "It's me. It's Finn. You're okay. Everything's fine. You were just having a nightmare."

A look of realisation washes over Rey's face and she immediately releases his wrist. She takes a deep breath and rests her head on her knees for a moment. Finn isn't entirely sure what to do, so he just takes a seat on the edge of her bed and gives her the time she needs.

Once her breathing has slowed to a calmer rate, Rey lifts her head. "I'm sorry," she murmurs quietly. Finn's not sure if she means for waking him or almost attacking him, but it doesn't matter.

"It's fine," he says. "Are you... okay?"

She nods silently, but the fearful look in her eyes betrays her, and Finn is not convinced.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head and doesn't say a word, leaving an awkward silence to settle between them momentarily.

"Do you want me to stay up with you for a while?" Finn asks. "Because I can do that. I don't mind."

"No," Rey says decidedly. "I think I'll try to go back to sleep."

Finn nods. "Okay. Well, if you need anything, just wake me up, alright?" He gets up from her bed and begins making his way back over to his own.

"Finn."

He spins back around. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," she says sincerely.

Finn flashes her a friendly smile, then returns to his own bed, but he doesn't let himself return to sleep just yet. He stays awake and watches over Rey furtively from a distance. It is only once he sees her body relax and can hear her breathing evenly that he returns to sleep himself.

...

It is Finn who wakes first, as the early morning light is only just beginning to pierce through the gaps in the curtains. As he sits up and stretches, banishing any lingering drowsiness, he steals a glance at his two friends, still sleeping peacefully. Rey is curled up on her side with her long legs tucked bent towards her chest. Poe, in contrast, is sprawled with his limbs stretched out wide, taking up as much space in his bed as humanly possible.

Finn considers waking them. He does not particularly want to spend hours, bored and by himself, waiting for his friends to finally drag themselves out of bed. But the longer he looks at their sleeping forms, at peace and blissfully oblivious to all stresses and worries, the more he realises he just can't bring himself to do it.

...

When Rey opens her eyes, the first thing she does is groan in frustration and bury her head beneath her pillow. Between her nightmares and Poe's intolerable snoring, she hadn't had the best night's sleep, rather a restless and exhausting one. In fact, she barely feels rested at all. The images and unsettling feelings of her nightmares still plague her mind – images of war and death, feelings of heartbreaking loss and impending doom. However, what distresses her most of all is the sinister feeling that had lingered throughout the dream, like a dark evil looming in the shadows, preparing to strike at her. In the throes of the dream, she hadn't known what it was. Now, wide awake, she still doesn't, and that scares her. She worries it might be real, perhaps something from her past she does not remember, or some horror awaiting her in the future. She worries it might be a threat. Still, she cannot bring herself to tell anyone about it. Not yet. Not when she can barely wrap her own mind around it.

When Rey turns her head, she notices Finn is awake too, sitting on his bed, his back resting against the wall. He is watching her from across the room, a kind smile on his face. Forcing her tired frustrations away the best she can, Rey crawls out of bed and wanders over the Finn. She climbs up to sit beside him and rests her head against his shoulder, and they stay that way for a long moment, saying nothing, and doing nothing but relishing in each other's company.

"I guess Poe is in no hurry to leave," Finn comments at last, exhaling in amusement.

"Should we wake him up?" Rey asks. "Or do you think that would make him mad?"

She tilts her head to look up at Finn is surprised to see the smug grin on his face.

"I've got a better idea."

...

Poe wakes feeling as though he is floating. He cannot even feel his bed beneath. It is not until his brain finally boots itself into full awareness that he realises he is actually floating!

_What the...?_

His limbs flail frantically and for a moment he is seriously confused, until he catches sight of Rey standing at the end of his bed, arm extended, evidently using the Force to hold him steadily in mid air. Her eyes are narrowed and focused, but her smile is wide and she is clearly enjoying herself. Beside her stands Finn, doubled over, convulsing with boisterous laughter, tears of hilarity streaming down his face.

Rey obviously notices Poe's confused panic, and she carefully sets him back down on the bed. "I'm sorry," she says, a hint of laughter in her voice. "It was Finn's idea."

"Yeah," adds Finn. "Payback for you waking me up in the middle of the night."

"I was checking to make sure you weren't dead," Poe explains, his voice rising in pitch. "Has anyone ever told you that you sleep like a dead man? Because you do, and it's creepy."

"Could've just let me be dead in peace," Finn jests.

"Well, sorry for caring so much about you," he teases back.

Finn's smile fades. "Poe –"

Poe laughs. "I know, you're only joking."

"Yes," says Finn. "And for the record, I am very grateful that you care. You're a good man, Poe, and an even better friend."

"I'll tell you what I'm _not_ grateful for," says Rey in a teasing tone. "Poe's snoring!"

"I can't help it!" Poe exclaims. "It's probably not as bad as you say."

"You woke me up!"

"Maybe you're just a light sleeper." It would not surprise Poe if it were true. After living alone on Jakku and having to fend for herself against an array of unsavoury folk, it would make perfect sense for Rey's vigilance and awareness to be high and active, even during sleep. After all, waking quickly and easily could mean the difference between life and death. "You know, you probably snore too, Rey," he adds, trying to strengthen his argument. "You just don't realise it."

"Okay you two, enough bickering," Finn interjects. "We need to get ready to go. I'm sure Leia wants us back as soon as possible."

"Are you sure she wants Poe's snoring back at base?" Rey teases playfully.

Poe grabs his pillow and tosses it at her. Unfortunately for him, she deflects the pillow with the Force and sends it sailing back to hit him in the head. He laughs, and both Finn and Rey laugh too. For a moment, Poe finds himself forgetting that they are in the middle of a war, that they constantly fighting for their lives and freedom and that of others, that there is a great evil out there scheming to crush all the hope and goodness the galaxy still holds. In this moment, laughing with his friends, who he is growing to love more and more each day, everything else ceases to exist. It's just them, and their joy, and Poe hopes with all his heart that the First Order never takes these people away from him.


End file.
